On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony (from the Incarnations of Immortality series) shows death as a human who performs a job function. When ‘in uniform’ death wears a cape, mask and gloves that give him the illusion of being a skeletal figure both in look and feel.
I just thought of Final Destination (first movie wasn’t completely bad, but the 2nd sucked really bad and I refuse to see the 3rd one) Death is never actually pictured, it’s just sort of…there causing things to happen.
To me that gave it a somewhat creepier feel, that death wasn’t this thing you could see or interact with. That it could be anywhere at any time.
Although it is kind of implied that the black dude (the guy from Candyman) might have been Death.
Hmm, I didn’t recall that. But then it’s been a while since I’ve seen it and even at that only the one time.
Then there’s Jessica Lange as an Angel of Death (with Ben Vereen as Death’s MC–“Bye-bye my life, good-bye”) in All That Jazz. That was good and very surreal.
I kinda liked the South Park death. Your basic skeletal figure in a robe with a scythe, but instead of being a charming, cryptic, or erilie spectral, he was an utter monster—an inarticulate brute who couldn’t even speak, and used his scythe as a crude hatchet to furiously bash down obstacles between him and his target. And he rode a tricycle (hey, think about it. You’re Death. By all rights, only things that you don’t ride are silly and wimpy.) I thought it was endearingly unique.
That, and the Red Death from Masque of the Red Death. (Both the story, and the movie with Vincent Price.)
Exactly. The First Time, You Were Talking Like A Golem.
(Which I always envisage as having a slight pause between each word, to the effect that golems don’t talk in sentences.)
Which the Death of the Discworld hates, because he can never remember how the knight moves. 
I remember watching the sketch in The Meaning of Life where a surly, profane angel comes to collect a food-poisoned dinner party filled with vacuous twits and heaps scornful insults on them in the process. I cracked up a friend of mine by commenting that clearly, Death needs a holiday.
Stephen McHattie played a dapper Death in a 1989 episode of The New Twilight Zone and groomed Janet Leigh (in one of her last TV appearances) as his assistant.
Thanks for the responses - Some of the references I’m familiar with; others I’m going to look into. (Gorgon?) It’s time I finally get around to the Discworld, I think.
Still fascinates me how we can turn ideas or events such as “Death” into characters. I wonder how its portrayed in non-Western literature.
Stop sign?
or Dead End ?
My favorite embodiment of death has to be from Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus played by Maria Casares as The Princess. She is stark and beautiful.
Also Death as the dark cloud from Ten Commandments.
Assuredly. You should note that while Death’s speech is represented LIKE THIS, it’s given some more description early in the serious: his tone of voice sounds rather like leaden coffin lids slamming shut in a vast echoing crypt, or some such.
And undoubtedly the funniest thing he ever says to an elderly wizard who has noticed Death looking at him in a funny way during a magical ceremony, and has forestalled an untimely visit by shutting himself in a magically sealed coffin with a time-locked lid inside a locked room, with any number of sorcerous wards to keep the Grim Reaper at bay, but has forgotten the importance of airholes in a plan like this, is “DARK IN HERE, ISN’T IT?”.
“serious” is an antique alternative spelling of “series”, obviously. :smack:
“Come, Lady Death” by Peter S. Beagle:
First read that as a high school sophomore, and was immediately inspired to try to achieve that level of clarity and smoothness in my own skin. I think staying out of the sun has helped to some extent.
My favorite film representation of Death wears long black robes and sucks at board games. Yes, I adore the Grim Reaper from Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. “Best three out of five!”
“Bridge Out”
Let’s see:
- Electric football
- Twister
I think there were four games, but I’m blanking here; what were the others?
There was also a Twilight Zone episode with Ed Wynn as a traveling salesman who delays Death (a brisk young junior-executive type in a suit and tie, with a briefcase) long enough to let an ailing little girl live. Death takes Ed Wynn instead, and he’s glad to go.
Last night, I saw the ad for Kelsey Grammer appearing on Medium as the Angel of Death. That’s gotta be one of the signs of the Apocalypse, right there…
Clue and Battleship.
To the OP, you can find a nice list of what you’re looking for here.